LeBrun: Oilers in on Nyquist/Donskoi/Connolly

[ManofSteel55]

McDavid and Draisaitl have taken steps forward. As has Nurse. And RNH looks to have "broken out" offensively too.
But they're still short three real top-6 wingers in Maroon and Eberle (neither of which have been replaced) and Lucic who's seemingly lost it completely.
And none of Klefbom, Larsson (was his first oilers season the anomaly or were the last two?), or Sekera have consistently played at that level since. And then you had lighting in a bottle guys like Letestu, who was huge on special teams.
Oh, and a 41 Win starting goalie!

Sorry, not here to rain on anyone's parade (summer is our time as oilers fans), but the current squad is a looooong way off from topping that 2017 team.

Maroon wasn't a top six forward he just clicked with McDavid. We are missing a starting goalie, and 2 wingers basically. Not easy to replace with no cap room, but people talk like we are guaranteed fodder next year again.

 

[Pointteen]

Donskoi and Connolly and then Russell for a cheaper RHD would be an amazing start.

 

[Pucker77]

I feel the Oilers should pass on Nyquist and sign Donskoi and Connolly. I believe those two combined will make as much Nyquist alone. The Oilers should build depth that way rather than overpay for 1 guy.

 

[780il]

I feel the Oilers should pass on Nyquist and sign Donskoi and Connolly. I believe those two combined will make as much Nyquist alone. The Oilers should build depth that way rather than overpay for 1 guy.

I agree with you.

Also makes sense since those guys will get shorter term deals that are less risky than the 6ish years Nyquist will want.

 

[Pucker77]

I agree with you.

Also makes sense since those guys will get shorter term deals that are less risky than the 6ish years Nyquist will want.

I wasn’t even thinking about term but yes. I assume they both get 2-3 years in the $2.5-$3 mil range.

If they don’t work out, they will be easier to move as well.

 

[Dicdonya]

As a Sharks fan, and closet EDM fan, I’d love to see Donskoi go to EDM.

I think until a better option exists, Donskoi would fit nicely with Drai and McDavid. He’s fast enough to stay relevant when McDavid bursts up the ice, has a good mix of both playmaking and shooting ability, pretty decent puck possession, creativity and dekes to hopefully open up space or utilize the space a guy like McDavid creates, and he’s sound defensively. If he stayed healthy I could see him pushing 55-60 pts with them, and unless he gets a much bigger contract than I expect, he would be great value for those points.

I don’t want to lose Donskoi, but if he went to EDM I would be ok with it, even though it would stink to play against him several times a year.

 

[Kolja]

For the record, McDavid and Drai is NOT in a dire need of a new wingman. Both had 100+ seasons and Kassian is doing well enough there. What we need is a partner for RNH to get his line going. That's our no 1 priority.

 

[780il]

For the record, McDavid and Drai is NOT in a dire need of a new wingman. Both had 100+ seasons and Kassian is doing well enough there. What we need is a partner for RNH to get his line going. That's our no 1 priority.

And an entire 3rd line.

But yes

 

[Zenos]

Maroon wasn't a top six forward he just clicked with McDavid. We are missing a starting goalie, and 2 wingers basically. Not easy to replace with no cap room, but people talk like we are guaranteed fodder next year again.

Fine. The oilers are still short an Eberle, a (still useful) Lucic and a non top-6 but just clicked with McDavid (for 27 goals) player compared to 2017.

 

[thadd]

We don't need wingers for McDavid. We need wingers for Drai or Hopkins (whoever is centering the second line.)
If Hopkins is centering the second line we need a legit sniper, which would probably cost more.
I'm afraid Nyquist will be too expensive for our taste. If we can afford it, I'd be happy to take the 2 others to help round out the middle 6.
I really don't know who to put up on the 1st line with McDavid and Hopkins/Drai.
I just hope it's someone who can skate and play responsible hockey. That's all I'm asking for. That's all they need.
That could on some nights be someone as cheap as Zack Kassian. Dude skates, dude plays responsible hockey and dude has other upsides other than punching faces. No, we're not looking for a face puncher. Just someone who can skate and play responsibly.

 

[HugginThePost]

This team is very similar to the team that nearly went to the Western Final two years ago. We're a goalie and a middle six winger away from basically having that same roster. The Oil had too many underperformers last season, but there is rebound potential in there for sure.

....a Vezina nominated goalie. Not an easy pick up.

 

[Fourier]

For the record, McDavid and Drai is NOT in a dire need of a new wingman. Both had 100+ seasons and Kassian is doing well enough there. What we need is a partner for RNH to get his line going. That's our no 1 priority.

This seems to be a hard point to get across.

 

[Fourier]

....a Vezina nominated goalie. Not an easy pick up.

They really only need league average goal tending to make a big difference. With a SV% of .914 the team would have given up 36 fewer goals last year. Statistically that would translate to about 12 more points.

They also have a healthy defense for the first time since 2016-2017. If they could reduce the shots against by even half the difference between last year and that year that would mean about 9 fewer goals against. This would be a total of about 15 more points in the standings.

There is no guarantee of course but it really is the case that even modestly better goaltending probably puts them in playoff contention.

 

[TFHockey]

The Oilers are healthier on the back end than they have been in a while, and with the addition of a few middle 6 forwards they'll be a play off team. Not a cup contender, but I think they'll make the playoffs.

 

[Kranix]

Can they afford all three? They need the depth

 

[TFHockey]

Can they afford all three? They need the depth

No without moving some out. Maybe Russell or Sekera. Russell should do it. He is playing his off side anyway and there should be room being made for the young D knocking on the door.

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

Good bottom 6 players to give them some depth.

 

[snipes]

I feel the Oilers should pass on Nyquist and sign Donskoi and Connolly. I believe those two combined will make as much Nyquist alone. The Oilers should build depth that way rather than overpay for 1 guy.

Agreed 100 percent.

I much prefer the Connolly and Donskoi option compared to just Nyquist.

 

[izzy]

I wasn’t even thinking about term but yes. I assume they both get 2-3 years in the $2.5-$3 mil range.

If they don’t work out, they will be easier to move as well.

connolly just had 46 points, i cant see him signing for less than 3

 

[Pucker77]

connolly just had 46 points, i cant see him signing for less than 3

Between the 2 I had Connolly on the higher end around $3 mil depending on the term.

 

[odishabs]

The Oilers can probably only afford one of those guys, seeing as they need another depth forward and a Goalie on top of that.

Draisaitl - McDavid - XXXXX
XXXXX - Nugent Hopkins - Connolly
Lucic - XXXXX - Yamamoto

 

[Kale Hulls]

Should pass on Nyquist, and to a much lesser degree Connolly, but if Donskoi can stay healthy I think he could be a huge piece for Edmonton and sign for a good hit.

 

[TFHockey]

The Oilers can probably only afford one of those guys, seeing as they need another depth forward and a Goalie on top of that.

Draisaitl - McDavid - XXXXX
XXXXX - Nugent Hopkins - Connolly
Lucic - XXXXX - Yamamoto

Draisaitl - McDavid - Probably Kassian
Possibly Nygard - Nugent Hopkins - Connolly
Lucic - Gagner- Yamamoto (might be stretch to make the team this year)
Khaira - Gaetan Haas? - XXXXX

Colby Cave/Brodziak​

 

[PullHard]

As an outsider I'm curious why the Oilers would load up McDavid and Draisaitl on the same line, like I know they are dominant together but wouldn't you rather get something like ~100+ points out of McDavid on a line and ~80+ points out of Draisaitl on another line (both helping to prop up middle six/ 3rd line wingers)?

Something like

RNH - McDavid - Connolly
Khaira/ Nygard - Draisaitl - Donskoi

?

 

[McFlash97]

Burakovsky and Connolly makes this team much faster and better in the bottom 6. Nyquist probably gives the Oilers one of the best top 4's in hockey